Continuous furnace



Sept. 2, 1952 E. w. DANY CQNTINUOUS FURNACE 2 SHEETS-SHEET l Filed July 26, 1950 INVENTOR. aan? WpA/v/ BY MJWAM ATTO/A/Ey- Sept 2, 1952 E. w. DANY 2,608,740

CONTINUOUS FURNACE Filed July 26, 1950 2 SHEETS--SHEET 2 'l E I: l l I l l .l I l I l l f :Y: 2 l I. I8 t; i l I l l -l l l l l f l /5121 7,95 IVA /7" ATvoxzx/e V5.

Patented Sept. 2, n1952 lvo-Flilcr.f'.

CONTINUOUS FURNACE vElmer W. Dany, Brecksville, Ohio, assigner to Ferro Corporation, a corporation of Ohio Application July ze, 195o, serial No. 175,912 y l l This invention relates as indicated to continuous furnaces and has more particular reference to U or hairpin conveyor type continuous furnaces for porcelain enameling.

Hairpin type continuous conveyor furnaces, for

porcelain enameling, as now constructed are provided with a slot in the roof through which the conveyorv means travels. The ware to be porcelain enameled is attached by various types of burning bars to the conveyor and is thus moved through the furnace. This type of furnace is subject to dirt and foreign matter falling through the slot in the roof andthereby contaminating the ware.

The present invention seeks to remedy this defect by providing a continuous conveyor type furnace with a slot in the bottom thereof.

It is therefore the principal yobject of the present invention to provide a bottom slot continuous furnace andl a conveyor means therefore.

Other objects will become apparent as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishments of the foregoing and related ends, the invention then, comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the following description and the annexed drawings setting forth inv detail certain illustrative embodiments of the invention, these being'indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principle of the invention may be employed.

In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a horizontal longitudinal diagrammatic view of a continuous bottom slot furnace;

Fig. 2 is a transverse cross sectional view of the front of the furnace;

Fig. 3 is a transverse cross sectional view taken through line 3-3 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view showing the conveyor means in detail.

Referring to the drawings I show a furnace I which is closed at the top and has a slot in the bottom an-d which may be constructed of suitable materials such as rebrick and the like according to well known principles. The furnace comprises essentially a burning chamber 2 and a preheating and cooling chamber 3. Suitable ports or doors 4 and 5, being only large enough to receive ware with appropriate carriage, are provided at the front end of the furnace, the back end of the furnace being closed.

The conveying system for carrying the ware into and out of the furnace, is located at the bottom of the furnace and extends upwardlyminto the furnace through a continuous slot I5 provided 3 Claims. (Cl. 25-142) 2 for the purpose and comprises essentially an endless chain 6 supported by guide rail 1. A'plurality of horizontally disposed supporting members 8 are connected to chain 6. The free end of supporting member 8 terminates in a'downwardly extending idler wheel'9 whichitravelson idler track I0. Ware carrying members II are mount# ed substantially in the center of supporting means 8. The chain is moved in ahorizntal motion by any of the well known mechanical means (not shown here).

Carried and supported by collar I2V on the sup#- porting (means 8 is a continuous 'articulated shield I3 which comprises shoe plates, slidably engage ing tracks I4. Tracks I4 comprise arpair of angle irons which slightly overhang the fronto'f the furnace andare declined slightly *toI receive the shoes plates. n g i j The ware is loaded and unloaded at the front door end of the furnace near the doors 4 andi, the unred Ware enters through door fr and progresses through the preheating' and v'cooling chamber 3 to the burning chamber 2, Where'ji't is carried through a arc and .',returned through the preheating and cooling chamber 3 out of the door 4 where itis unloaded. Thew'are is of course completely red in the burning chain'- ber and it is my intention that after leaving the burning chamber it delivers up heat 'to the` incoming unred ware. Preferably the preheating and cooling chamber is about twice as long as the burning chamber.

Since it is not necessary to maintain a high temperature in the preheat zone 3 I have found that the furnace can be constructed more economically by eliminating the bottom layer of insulation, as shown at I6 in Fig. 2. However, in the heating zone area where it is important to maintain a high and substantially constant temperature the area I1 beneath the heating elements I8 is completely insulated.

The foregoing has described my furnace in a general way and has particularly dealt with the means for conveying ware through the furnace. While I have illustrated the present furnace as being heated by electricity, I wish it to be understood that it is entirely within the contemplation of the present invention to include various other means of firing the furnace.

From the foregoing description it can now be readily seen that I have provided a U type continuous furnace with a bottom slot. The furnace having a closed roof is absolutely impervious to dirt,. etc., from falling on the ware going through the furnace. Furthermore, I have provided a conveying means for said bottom slot furnace and means preventing an ingress of cold air through the bottom. The furnace of my invention is more eicient than present type topslot furnaces since the roof is closed and there is less loss of heat due to the slot in the roof.

Other modes of applying the principle of the invention may be employed, change being made as regards the details described, provided thefeature stated in any of the following claims or the equivalent of such be employed.

I, therefore, particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a U-type furnace of a continuous conveyor for carrying ware through said furnace comprising a guide rail located at the bottom and substantially to one side of the center of said furnace, an endless horizontal chain supported by said guide rail, means for imparting horizontal motion tosaid chain and the free endsof such supporting members terminating in a downwardly extending idler wheel, al track `disposed beneath said idler wheel and an up- Wardly extending ware carrying member mounted substantially in the center `of each of said vsupporting means, said furnace having a solid ,continuous roof and the bottom providedwith a continuous U-shaped opening for receiving said ware-conveying means, and means for preventing ingressof cold air through said continuous opening, said last named means comprising overlapping plates engaged by said ware carrying members and slidable along tracks, said plates being solely supported by said tracks lwhile in the furnace and by said ware carrying members when outside of the furnace.

2. A furnace comprising a preheating and cooling chamber, a burning chamber located at one kend of said preheating and cooling chamber, means for conveying articles through said chambers through a continuous slot provided in the .bottom of said chambers whereby said articles porting members mounted on said chain and the free ends of said supporting members terminating in a downwardly extending idler wheel, a track disposed beneath said idler Wheel and an upwardly extending Ware carrying member mounted substantially in the center of each of said supporting means, and means for preventing ingress of cold air through said continuous opening,fsaid last named means comprising overlapping plates engaged by said Ware carrying members and slidable along tracks, said tracks disposed above said horizontal chain and above said idler track, said plates being solely supported by said tracks while in the furnace and by said ware carrying members when outside of the furnace.

3. A porcelain enameling furnace for continuously firing work conveyed therethrough comprising an elongated tunnel provided with a longitudinally extending slot in the floor thereof and means for conveying ware through said slot, said means comprising a hollow channel guide rail located below and substantially to Aone side of the center of said slot, a plurality of horizontally disposed supporting members mounted in said hollow channel and means interconnecting said supporting members whereby such supportingmembers may be moved in unison through said slot, the free ends of said supporting members terminating in a downwardly extending wheel, a track disposed beneath said idler Wheel and an upwardly extending Ware carrying member mounted substantially in the center of each of said supporting means.

ELMER. W. DANY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the nle of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 590,737 Helzel Sept. 28, 1897 985,797 Goldsmith Mar. 7, 1911 1,105,729 Waterhouse et al. Aug. 4, 1914 1,140,105 Bickmeier et al. May 18, 1915 1,526,582 Beasley Feb. 17, 1925 1,663,309 Lang, Mar. 20, 1928 1,713,851 McDougal May 2l, 1929 1,889,928 Manion Dec. 6, 1932 

